


Quiet

by HyperKid



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Caleb needs many snugs, ClayLeb Week 2019, Dissociation, Hair Brushing, M/M, Prompt: Domestic, clayleb week, non verbal character, soft, soft soft soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-27 03:41:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21385495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyperKid/pseuds/HyperKid
Summary: Caduceus finds Caleb during a bad moment. So he stays with him to help work him through it.
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Caleb Widogast, clayleb
Comments: 20
Kudos: 333





	Quiet

**Author's Note:**

> HK: I just. Soft.   
Mollymauk: Soft?   
HK: Soft. That is all.   
Mollymauk: We could all use more soft. 
> 
> WARNINGS!! Caleb is nonverbal for 90% of the fic and is a sad boy, without details 
> 
> Disclaimer: I am “remembers needing these” years old, and as a millennial therefore own nothing!

The brush dragged slowly through his hair, a gentle, soothing rhythm. Any knots had been carefully eased through long before so now each slide was smooth. Caleb wasn’t sure how long he’d been sat there, mostly insensate. 

But it was helping. A gentle, predictable touch, easing him slowly back into the world. Almost as good as the large, warm presence behind him. 

Caduceus had found him curled up in his bubble on the floor of his room in the Xhorhouse. To his credit, the cleric hadn’t asked stupid questions. No “are you alright”, or “how are you feeling”. He’d taken one look at the bubble and stepped through. 

Caleb was still just a little surprised he’d managed to set the spell to let anyone else in at all. He wasn’t exactly in his clearest mind. 

He just... he wanted everyone else to go away. Wanted to be safe, alone, where nobody could hurt him. Didn’t want anyone to see him like this, all numb and slow and stupid. 

It was possible that only Caduceus could have stepped through. The firbolg was... safe. Safety. Everything good combined into one large, furry package. 

And he’d known what to do with Caleb too, somehow. He’d entered the bubble, crouched beside the wizard, and gently run his fingers through his hair. Petted him like he was a large cat. 

It kinda worked. Caleb could see why Frumpkin liked it. It was just... reassuring. Smooth, rhythmic, a gentle touch that gave him a grounding point. 

After a few minutes of petting, he managed to lever himself into a sitting position. Caduceus just moved with him, hand stroking slowly through his hair. 

Part of Caleb considered just flopping back into his lap and curling up against his body. But it was too much effort. Too much strength, energy, and attention to move a body that felt more like a stone statue than anything of his own. But the gentle, soothing touches didn’t stop. 

He didn’t really know where the brush had come from, when the soft caresses had been replaced by bristles making their way slowly through tangled hair. It was... different. Not like the tender caress of a large hand stroking over his head. Each point went all the way down to his scalp, brushing skin and parting the hair before it like waves. 

It made sense that Caduceus would have no trouble getting the knots out without tugging; his hair was much longer, and Caleb assumed having many siblings would mean someone to practice on. 

Something about the brushing brought Caleb back to older times. Long, long ago, when someone used to take care of him. He couldn’t have been more than six. 

Not thinking about it took a lot less effort than usual. He was having a hard time thinking about anything, or keeping a thought in his head for more than a few seconds. Just a stream of consciousness, soothed along by the brush. 

Occasionally there would be a flash of worry that Caduceus would talk to him, would want to know what was wrong. Caleb didn’t have the first idea, but he knew trying to talk about it wouldn’t go well. He didn’t have any words left. 

But Caduceus Clay was good at silence, too, and he just kept going, guiding the brush through hair completely free of knots. And Caleb would relax again, as much as he was able in this floating half state. 

Until the next wave came. 

For his own part, Caduceus was perfectly content to sit and brush. What little responses he got from his human seemed positive enough; a slight leaning into his touch, his head tilting back for easier access. Occasionally a soft, meaningless noise would drift past his lips if Caduceus hit a snarl. 

Most of them were gone now. 

Caduceus was always fascinated by Caleb’s hair. And Beau’s, on the rare occasion she wore it down. Human hair was... different. Strange. It changed from person to person, sometimes coarser, sometimes softer. Caleb’s was much thicker than his own, so many strands packed into each inch of scalp that it gave itself body. 

Brushing it was a fascinating activity, feeling it run through his fingers as smooth as silk. Firbolg hair was distinctly different from their fur, thinner and almost weightless. It flowed easily and didn’t tangle much, not like Caleb’s. 

Caleb’s hair seemed intent to tangle every time he reparted it, or the human shifted his head. Sort of like how his thoughts would keep tangling up. 

Caduceus didn’t really know why Caleb spent so much time trapped in his own head. He’d heard the explanation with all their other friends, of course. But he didn’t understand all that well. There had been nothing in the forest even a little bit like what happened to his friend. 

He also knew he didn’t need to understand. So he watched over Caleb, over how the others dealt with him when he was all tangled up. 

Paid attention to what worked, what didn’t work, what seemed to help the most when he was non verbal. 

Somewhere along the road to Xhorhas, Caduceus felt like he’d gotten a pretty good understanding of how Caleb Widogast worked. He was a diligent student in his own way. 

And Caleb was fascinating; a study in contradictions and complications, their cautious center and wild, reckless firebrand all in one. Caduceus was sure he could study the man for years and still be surprised by him. 

He was rather looking forward to being proven right. 

And Caleb needed someone... not to look after him. The wizard could more than take care of himself if necessary, and he’d proved it plenty of times. He could adapt to whatever conditions he found himself in, and turn situations to his favour. No, what he needed was someone to care for him. To make sure he ate, to find him books, to brush his hair. 

To cherish him. 

Coming from a large family, Caduceus had been so used to small, casual affection that suddenly being without it for so long had been a huge shock. Being alone had left him starved emotionally, physically, and tactilely. 

Caleb had almost the opposite look about him; someone who had been alone so long that actually getting those little bits of affection was a shock to him. The rest of the Nein seemed perfectly happy to dole it out and not question his responses. They’d back off if he seemed uncomfortable, didn’t put him on the spot. And it seemed to help. 

In just the time Caduceus had travelled with him, he’d seen Caleb relax. To settle into the comfort, the casual touch, Jester’s ebullient hugs. He’d like to think he’d been part of that. 

He had been a bit more cuddly himself, after being alone so long. And Caleb was just right to cuddle. Calmer than Jester and Nott, and less awkward than Fjord and Beau; he’d lean into it, let himself have that nice, laid back snuggle that Caduceus loved so much. He wasn’t embarrassed by his need. 

He did sometimes look like he didn’t think he deserved to have it met. 

But he could lean up against Caduceus with one of his books, helping the firbolg with one of his own if necessary, or just letting him play with Frumpkin. It made for a lot of lovely evenings and afternoons. 

And every so often, he would need something like this. 

It might have been hours that they sat in silence. After a while, Caduceus switched from brushing to playing with Caleb’s hair, arraying it in strings of braids and twists. Without anything to hold them, most of the more elaborate twists and coils spun themselves out of the human’s hair rather quickly. 

With some experimentation, he switched to braiding mostly, separating out small sections to braid together. Caleb had plenty of hair to play with and the more Caduceus played, the more he seemed to settle. 

Neither spoke. But as time passed, Caleb grew a little more... present. It was hard to define how or why. More just a feeling. He sat up a little straighter, shifted back until his butt was pressed into the cross of Caduceus’ legs. Angled his head to give easier access to a side for braiding. 

Occasionally he would glance back and their eyes would meet, and each time there was just a little more awareness in those eyes. Caduceus was more than happy to just keep going all night. 

They would perhaps need to break for food at some point, but Caduceus was more than capable of casting Sending to one of the others if he had to. If nothing else, he could probably hand feed Caleb something. 

Before it came to that, though, Caleb turned slowly, his gaze skittering across Caduceus’ face before meeting his eyes. His voice was rough when he spoke, harsh from not being used. 

“Thank you, Caduceus.” 

The smile that bloomed across Caduceus’ face was warm and genuine enough to feel like a hug around him. 

“You’re more than welcome,” he said happily, reaching out to rest a hand on the wizard’s. “Are you feeling better?” 

Drawing in a deep breath, Caleb closed his eyes and considered for a moment. Nodded. Opened them again, a small smile on his own face. 

“How did you know what would help?” He asked quietly, moving into the firbolg’s lap to lean up against him. 

“Oh, I didn’t,” Caduceus replied, happy as you please, “but it seemed like a good idea at the time.” His arms came up to wrap around the wizard, long, strong bands of warmth. 

Under his chin, Caleb’s expression froze for a long moment. Then a small smile spread across his lips. 

He had asked. What else would he expect from the cleric? 

**Author's Note:**

> HK: Happy Clayleb week everyone, I hope you all had fun! Hoping to get some more lil oneshots out for November now that the week is done, wish me luck!


End file.
